VW to take $2.9 billion charge over diesel retrofit costs

Volkswagen says it expects to take charges of about $2.9 billion in the third quarter to cover the costs of buying back and retrofitting diesel cars in North America.

The German automaker said Friday that it is increasing provisions for a buyback and retrofitting program for 2-liter TDI vehicles that was part of settlements over its diesel emissions scandal. It said that the program "is proving to be far more technically complex and time consuming."

Volkswagen will release its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 27.

The company has been under a cloud since 2015 over its equipping of diesel cars with illegal software that enabled cheating on U.S. emissions tests. Volkswagen has agreed to more than $20 billion in fines and civil settlements over the scandal.